Animation
This week we had to dip our toes into some line drawn animation with the flour sacks. I wished to have the flour sack thrown violently at a wall and to do so, I had it stretched out and the frames are spaced further away. The sack is filled with a powder and so it can show some bounce and movement. I had it squash midway through being flung when it hits and bounces from the ground. To have a look of strong impact on the wall, I had it freeze for a short time before sliding down to build anticipation as well. When it fell I had it slouch down in a look of defeat and then faceplant on the ground and then at the end I got it to stand back up.
I received some feedback from my tutors in that I would need to add more movement to the tassels on the flour sack when it initially falls down, a slight swing to them rather than falling still quickly.
Villain Design
After a discussion with my group, we decided that we needed a villain design. I quickly decided I have to create one as I love villains in animation and live-action film. I sketched out some interesting looking designs but nothing really stuck out with me or my teammates. Since another alien was designed already, I got some ideas to make it look like more of a marine looking creature which is in the 2nd design.
Working further I thought of making it a sassy female alien with long hair and large exaggerated fins and a flowy cloak. But the design wasn’t there yet I thought, so I went back to the drawing board
Finally, I got to this design. An androgynous-looking alien with the jaw referencing the previous design and the fins are now looking like ears and much smaller. I have added tentacle-like appendages to contour the head and lead you to the hair which are fins that resembles a betta fish. I gave a snake-like appearance to the face overall, crocodile eyes, smooth nose area, and a mouth that could open wide.
And this is the final design. I went with the grey skin as it fits his character better and doesn’t blend in more with the hair, as well as the eyes are more accentuated. The purple clothing gives him a regal vibe and the orange accents go well with it. The metallic pauldrons serve as an extra design element that is different from the whole outfit, almost like a statement accessory with the sharp points to present him as dangerous. For extra movement for secondary animation and to complete the composition of the character, I added a cape.
This is the mood board for the end design.
Storyboard
I was going for a cinematic, action-packed scene for my animation segment. A quick swish of the cloak already sets up the speed and is also a transition from a previous shot. The character turns around and is in a position to fire, the scene turns slow motion and the camera zooms out in 2 shots to reveal the full scene. It cuts to a top angle view of the villain and he shoots. The petal tiger falls behind him. The camera pans up the character who is getting up and spinning his gun while the tiger is expiring with the tail still catching up to it. The villain walks forward and hears a roar and a nyxer leaps at him. He dodges it and gives it a sassy smile of impending death. I referenced a video from youtube of a roundhouse kick for the last shot. The nyxer would fly through the screen into another scene as a transition.
I am very proud of the character design of the villain and the storyboard.